nanosolar

Who will make CIGS work for the solar sector?

I've been saying for a while, that with enough money, someone is bound to crack the CIGS nut in thin film, and deliver the cleantech sector another First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) like renaissance for the always around the corner technology.

That's not because it's easy, or even because it's a good idea to try, but when well over a billion dollars in investment pours into a given technology, something is bound to come out the other side - eventually. A seductively high efficiency potential technology with very low potential materials costs, CIGS has been just over … Read more

Nanosolar touts 1 gigawatt solar cell machine

Upstart Nanosolar says that it has built the Ferrari of solar cell manufacturing: a one gigawatt machine that prints solar cells at 100 feet per minute.

In the company blog, CEO Martin Roscheisen on Wednesday said that the one gigawatt machine is a first for the solar industry, orders of magnitude more "capital efficient" than existing production techniques.

Nanosolar is one of several companies betting on CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) to lower the price of solar electricity. Compared to traditional silicon, CIGS cells don't require nearly as much material.

Roscheisen said that the secret to Nanosolar … Read more

Nanosolar to set sights on residential market

There's been an explosion in the number of solar companies over the past few years. But for the most part, product development is destined for power plants operated by utilities.

That won't always be the case, however, says Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen, who wrote in a blog that the company will eventually serve the home rooftop market.

Nanosolar is a well-funded Silicon Valley solar manufacturer that started making thin-film solar cells and modules late last year. The first customer is a utility in east Germany.

In a recent blog, Roscheisen described why the company is targeting utilities first … Read more

Nanosolar gets big customer, $50 million more in investment

Renewable energy provider EDF Energies Nouvelles has plunked $50 million into Nanosolar and will get access to output from Nanosolar's factories in 2009.

Nanosolar specializes in copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar cells. CIGS cells aren't as efficient as silicon solar cells, but they cost less and can be integrated into building materials. Nanosolar's cells can be printed on thin, flexible sheets of metal.

The company became one of the first to start producing CIGS commercially when it started cranking out production in December. Some other competitors have had to delay production. Right now, only Global Solar in Arizona also … Read more

Thin-film outfit Global Solar touts efficiency, seeks expansion funds

The race is on to make most the cost-effective solar panel, and little-known Global Solar Energy says its flexible, thin-film cells have got the lead.

Company president and CEO Mike Gering told investors at the recent Piper Jaffray's Clean Technology and Renewables Conference that the company is trying to raise $100 million in private equity to finance construction of two new plants--one in Tucson, Ariz., and one in Berlin.

The company is one of several developing thin-film solar cells made from the combination of materials copper indium gallium and diselenide (CIGS).

CIGS, one alternative to the dominant silicon solar … Read more

Rumor: Nanosolar worth $2 billion, Solyndra $1 billion

CIGS looks like it could pay off.

Nanosolar and Solyndra, which both develop copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar cells, are looking at raising additional funds, according to sources, and both companies have put large valuations on themselves.

According to sources, Nanosolar is telling investors it will have a valuation, after another round of funds, of around $2 billion. Solyndra says it is worth $1 billion. Not bad for companies with combined current revenues at the moment that probably would have difficulty rivaling the take of a reasonably located convenience store. Nanosolar just started shipping a few solar cells to customers at the … Read more

HelioVolt selects Texas for its first CIGS plant

HelioVolt, which plans on producing thin film solar panels made from copper indium gallium and selenide (CIGS), will build a 20-megawatt factory in Austin, Texas, that will start popping out panels in 2008.

The factory will employ about 150 people. The company then hopes to move into mass manufacturing by the first quarter of 2009 as well as expand production capacity.

CIGS solar panels aren't as efficient at converting sunlight into electricity as silicon solar panels, but advocates say that they cost far less to produce. CIGS solar panels can also be placed on glass or polymer sheets. Ideally, … Read more

Nanosolar 'prints' first flexible solar cells

Well-financed solar start-up Nanosolar on Tuesday said it has started shipping its flexible thin-film solar cells, meeting its own deadline and marking a milestone for alternative solar-cell materials.

On the company's blog, CEO Martin Roscheisen announced that the first megawatt of its solar panels will be used as part of a power plant in eastern Germany.

The release of Nanosolar's first products is significant because the company develops a process to print solar cells made out of CIGS, or copper indium gallium selenide, a combination of elements that many companies are pursuing as an alternative to silicon.

The … Read more

HelioVolt raises more cash

HelioVolt, which specializes in copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells, has raised an additional $24 million, bringing the total injected into the company to more than $100 million. The latest investors include Sequel Venture Partners, Noventi Ventures and Passport Capital.

CIGS solar cells are not as efficient as crystalline silicon solar cells, the dominant type of cell on the market. HelioVolt's first cells will likely have an efficiency rating of 10 percent to 12 percent, meaning that they can convert 10 percent to 12 percent of the sunlight that strikes them into electricity. Commercially available silicon solar cells … Read more